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Religion

One hallmark of the American experience captured in the Museum's collections is the nation's broad diversity of religious faiths. Artifacts range from Thomas Jefferson's Bible to a huge "Sunstone" sculpture carved for a Mormon temple in Illinois in 1844 to a household shrine from the home of a Pueblo Indian in the 1990s. Furniture, musical instruments, clothing, cooking ware, and thousands of prints and figures in the collections have all played roles in the religious lives of Americans. The most comprehensive collections include artifacts from Jewish and Christian European Americans, Catholic Latinos, Protestant Arab Americans, Buddhist and Christian Asian Pacific Americans, and Protestant African Americans. One notable group is the Vidal Collection of carved figures known as santos and other folk religious material from the practice of Santeria in Puerto Rico.

This sheet music is for the song “In the Chapel in the Moonlight” written and composed by Billy Hill. The song was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Company Inc. of New York City in 1936. The bright yellow cover features an illustration of a man standing in a chapel in the moonlight, signed by Barbelle. There is a large inset photograph of performer Phil Regan on the right of the cover.

This sheet music is for the song “The Maiden's Prayer” which was composed by Thécla (Tekla) Badarzewska in 1856. The sheet music was published by the Armstrong Music Publishing Company in the early 1900s. The white and red cover features an inset illustration of a maiden kneeling before a cross and candles in front of her window, as light shines down on her face. This song was published in Polish and French prior to being published in English, which is why the sub-title is “La Priére D’une Vierge.”

This sheet music for the song "The Shepherd Boy" was written and composed by G. D. Wilson. The song was published by the Armstrong Music Co. of New York, New York in 1903. The cover features an illustration of a shepherd boy sitting on rocks among sheep and doing his best to woo a girl.

This sheet music for the song "The Lord Is My Shepherd (23rd Psalm)" was written and composed by John B. Marsh and published by the William. A. Pond and Co. of New York, New York in 1898. This cover is plain paper with black text, but the phrase “The Lord” is underlined by the image of a shepherd’s staff. The contralto solo was written with affectionate regard to Mr. Warren Pond.